Questions remain in case of missing woman

Authorities provided little information Friday about their
investigation into the alleged kidnapping of a Canyon Lake woman
more than a month ago by her former boyfriend -- both of whom were
found Thursday.

Stephanie Creech, 31, was found safe in La Jolla after
reportedly driving there from Mexico, Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman
for the FBI said Friday.

The man accused of kidnapping Creech from a home in Canyon Lake
on Jan 26, Richard Eric Gurzi, was found in a small fishing town
south of Ensenada, Mexico, authorities said. Gurzi, 37, of Sun
City, was brought back to Riverside County on Thursday and booked
at Southwest Detention Center in French Valley.

Gurzi and Creech had been living in a residence near Ensenada
with another person, Eimiller said. Authorities provided no
information about that third person.

"(Gurzi and Creech) had been there at least a couple of weeks
and (Gurzi) was possibly doing some odd jobs," Eimiller said.

Riverside County sheriff's investigators conducted extensive
interviews with Gurzi and Creech on Thursday once they were brought
back to the Perris Sheriff's Station.

"We are looking into why he was in Ensenada and why Creech was
in La Jolla," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Earl Quinata said.

Gurzi was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, assault with a
deadly weapon, vehicle theft and domestic violence, according to
jail records.

Ingrid Wyatt, spokeswoman for the Riverside County district
attorney's office, said Friday that prosecutors expect to file
formal charges against Gurzi on Monday or Tuesday, after which he
will be arraigned.

"There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the past 35
days," Wyatt said.

All authorities have confirmed so far is that a fugitive
apprehension task force received information that Gurzi had taken
Creech to Mexico. Law enforcement officials in Mexico were
contacted and found and arrested Gurzi, the FBI's Eimiller
said.

"(Creech) was not located there, however," Eimiller said.
Further investigation led authorities to La Jolla where task force
members found the missing woman.

The manhunt for Gurzi and the search for Creech started after he
reportedly took her by force from a home on Longhorn Drive in
Canyon Lake and fled in a stolen construction truck, authorities
said.

According to the FBI, occupants of that home saw Gurzi choking
Creech and dragging her away.

The day before Creech disappeared, there was a fire at the home
of her current boyfriend on Sandpiper Way in Canyon Lake.
Authorities believe that fire, which caused extensive damage, was
set by Gurzi.

Just before the fire, Gurzi knocked at the door of the home,
forced his way inside and threatened Creech and her 45-year-old
boyfriend with a knife, sheriff's deputies said. The couple fled
and returned later to find the house on fire.